Word to the Wise
Thursday, December 19, 2019 - December 19
[Judg 13:2-7, 24-25a and Luke 1:5-25]"Though you are barren and have had no children, yet you will conceive and bear a son. Now, then, be careful to take no wine or strong drink and to eat nothing unclean......" [Judges[ "Do not be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. You wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall name him John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He will drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother's womb....." [Luke]
The scriptures assigned today call our attention to a feature of the story of Jesus that can broaden our understanding of God's plan of salvation. This feature is "improbable pregnancy!" In the case of Samson's mother (who isn't even named in the story) and Elizabeth, it is more than the joy of a child, it is a removal of a badge of social change. Barrenness in a woman would be a hard status to bear in the biblical Middle-East and is still a hard cross to bear for any woman who wishes to bear a child and cannot for whatever reason.
Given the nature of childbirth in biblical times, it is a wonder that any child or woman survived the experience. The joy could be one of survival relief in addition to having the child. The liturgical joy at the birth of Jesus as Messiah can easily overshadow the difficulties faced by his mother, making a trip by foot or donkey from Nazareth to Bethlehem and then having to give birth in a stable! Speculation that this occurred in a way that spared Mary any discomfort seems to me to deny her the full experience of childbirth, even if modern anesthesia does help millions of women now. Many of them can find her sharing their experience and joy along with Elizabeth and Samson's mom. The improbability of the pregnancies adds to the experience as well.
Christmas is more than bearing presents like gold, frankincense, myrrh and all kinds of gifts. It is about giving birth, and our Church needs to remember in a more profound way this contribution of women to the Body of Christ. AMEN